Safety exit attachment for combination lock



Sept. 20, 1966 E. G. BECKE SAFETY EXIT ATTACHMENT FOR COMBINATION LOCK Filed Sept. 2, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR EDWARD G. BEG/(E ATTORNEY Sept. 20, 1966 E. G. BECKE 3,273,362

SAFETY EXIT ATTACHMENT FOR COMBINATION LOCK Filed Sept. 2, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR EDWA RI 6. BEG/(E BY Z /IGJENT ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,273,362 SAFETY EXlT ATTACHMENT FOR COMMNATIUN LOCK Edward G. lllecke, 6006 Napoli Road, Camp Springs, Md. 20031 Filed Sept. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 394,088 4 Claims. (Ci. 70-320) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

The present invention is directed to a device for quickly opening a door from the inside of a room when the door is secured by a combination lock of a deadbolt type.

In certain security work areas it is common practice to use a combination lock, such as described in Patent Number 2,575,674 in combination with a #50 Safemaster safety deadbolt extension secured thereto such as manufactured by Sargent and Greenleaf, to secure a door such as used in a security room with admittance restricted to certain personnel. Such a lock must be opened from the outside by use of a combination dial in the usual manner or by personnel from the inside of a room secured by the combination lock. The commonly used combination lock deadbolt extension arrangement requires one on the inside of a room to use one hand to release the safety latch of the deadbolt and to withdraw the deadbolt while using the second hand to open the door especially when the door opens inwardly. Such an operation is all right when one wants to open the door without anything in either hand. However, if one wants to leave the secured room with an arm load of papers, etc., the papers must be laid down to open the door and then after opening the door the papers are picked up in order to pass through the door. Such an operation is time consuming, awkward, and unnecessary.

It is known that some security rooms have important papers or machines which can be damaged by fire. These rooms may be provided with an automatic fire extinguisher system which gives off a suffacating gas such as carbon dioxide. Thus, anyone working in the room must evacuate the room within a period between the sounding of an alarm and the release of the extinguishment. Thus, a quick opening lock release must be used. The normally used safety deadbolt extension combination lock has a spring loaded plunger which is pushed into a hole in the deadbolt lock. A rotating element is then rotated to withdraw the deadbolt. Then the person leaving the room must use the other hand to pull the door knob to open the door. Thus, requiring time and the use of two handles.

It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved combination lock-safety deadbolt extension which can be unlocked from the inside of a room and opened with the same hand.

Another object is to provide an improved safety release for a deadbolt extension of a combination lock which is simple, can be opened quickly from the inside of a room and is dependable.

Another object is to provide an improved lock release system which is rugged and sufliciently strong to open a heavy door such as used in a security area.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon a careful consideration of the following detailed description when taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view illustrating the relative parts;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view through the improved features made according to the present invention.

The improved safety release attachment for a safety combination lock includes a round door knob secured to a bracket by a spindle or shaft for rotation about the spindle. A spring loaded deadbolt retriever plunger is mounted parallel to the shaft with a thumb or finger pressed button secured to the retrieving plunger and secured at the center of the door knob. Pressure on the finger pressed button moves the deadbolt retrieving plunger into the hole in the spring loaded safety lock of the deadbolt and rotation of the door handle then withdraws the deadbolt and the door knob can be used to open the door.

Now referring to the drawings there is shown for illustrative purposes only, a suitable improvement for a safety combination lock made in accordance to the teaching of the present invention. The safety combination lock in cluding a combination lock 10 such as Patent Number 2,575,674 having a long spindle 11 for fitting through thick heavy doors to connect with the lock portion secured to the back of the door and a combination dial 12 on the outside of the door secured to the spindle. The combination lock has a safety deadbolt extension 13, such as a #50 Safemaster extension 13, secured to the combination lock as a safety feature to prevent the deadbolt from being forced open or withdrawn. The safety lock exten sion includes a deadbolt 14 which is locked in its locked position or in its withdrawn position by different spring pressed locks. The exploded view of FIG. 1 illustrates the deadbolt in the locked position with the spring lock 15 in position to prevent withdrawal of the deadbolt unless operated by the combination dial or by the release. When withdrawn the deadbolt is locked open by a spring loaded latch 16 that catches slot 17 in the deadbolt which is released by a lock release 18 operated when closing the door.

The present invention is directed to an improvement in releasing the deadbolt from inside of a secured room and then opening the door with the release means rather than having to use the regular door handle. The improvement includes a U-shaped mounting bracket 21 with ends 22 which are used for holding the bracket to the Safemaster extension base over the safety deadbolt area by suitable screws or bolts. The mounting bracket 21 has a slot 23 having an arc shape along the center of the bracket and a hole 24 on the axis displaced from the arcuate slot. A spindle or shaft 25 has one end 26 cut down to fit into the hole 24 and to provide a shoulder to prevent the shaft from possibly slipping into the deadbolt area, a retainer 27 secures the shaft in the hole 24. The upper end 28 of the shaft 25 is out down over a longer length than at the bottom and provided with threads. A cylindrical member 41 is reamed from one end along the axis a distance equal to the large portion of the shaft 25 such that the cylindrical member slips over the shaft with a loose fit. Above the large portion of the shaft, the cylindrical member is provided with a recess with two areas of different diameter that forms a rib portion 32 which rides on the upper end of the large portion of the shaft and extends radially inward to the threaded end portion of the shaft. The threaded end of the shaft 25 extends in the recessed area of the cylindrical member. A self-locking elastic stop nut 33 is threaded onto the threaded end of the shaft with a loose fit between rib 32 and the stop nut to permit rotation of the cylindrical member about the shaft or spindle. A push botton 34 is carried by a deadbolt retrieving plunger 35 and has a spring 36 interposed between the push button and the stop nut which urges the deadbolt retrieving plunger upwardly away from the safety latch of the deadbolt extension. The upper end of the cylindrical member has a groove 37 therein along the recess of greater diameter within which a retainer spring wire 38 is in serted to prevent the spring loaded push button from being forced from the cylindrical member. It is noted that the deadbolt retrieving plunger is off center with respect to the push button and fits with a loose fit within the deadbolt plunger passage 41 in the cylindrical member. In order to use the same hand to withdraw or retrieve the deadbolt and pull the door open, a heavy duty door knob 42 is secured over the cylindrical member and secured thereto by two set screws 43. The set screws are positioned on the door knob at a specific position in order to mount the door knob for a left or right hand opening door.

It is desirable at times to open the door as quickly as possible, therefore, the deadbolt retrieving plunger must be positioned at the correct position with respect to the hole in the safety lock of the deadbolt. This is made possible by a weighted door knob such as by filling or loading the door knob with lead within the outer surface of the knob along the edge to include about two thirds of the circumference of the door knob. The door knob is mounted such that the lead acts as a counter weight 44 to position the deadbolt retrieving plunger along the arcuate slot at the correct position to be pressed into the hole in the deadbolt safety catch to withdraw the deadbolt. The loaded d-oor handle balances itself on a vertical line such that the deadbolt retrieving plunger is in the correct position to enable one to quickly press the push button, turn the handle and the deadbolt will be withdrawn.

The bracket or mounting saddle as shown in cross section in FIG. 2 is made to fit over the #50 Safemaster extension and be secured to the sides of the base plate. This is for illustrative purposes only since it is obvious that the bracket could be made to fulfill the function of the usual cover plate over the end of the extension to guide the deadbolt and to hold the parts of the extension in place. Likewise the bracket could be mounted from the bottom of the base through the housing of the extension; however, these combination locks are usually secured to large heavy doors and the bracket and parts must be sturdy enough to withstand the pull of the handle during opening the door.

In operation, the various elements are mounted onto the mounting saddle and then mounted onto the safety extension in its proper location. The door knob is mounted onto the cylindrical member for either a left or right hand opening door such that the loaded side of the door knob will be down balanced along a vertical line with the deadbolt retrieving bolt positioned along the arc above the hole in the safety lock for the deadbolt extension. When it is desired to open the door the thumb button is pressed against the spring forcing the retrieving plunger into the hole in the deadbolt safety lock. The door knob is then rotated in the proper direction to release the safety lock and to withdraw the deadbolt. The deadbolt is then automatically locked in the withdrawn position by the latch 16 in the usual manner of operation of the safety extension. When closing the door, the door latch has a special tab which operates the deadbolt lock that secures the deadbolt open to release the lock and the deadbolt into the locked position in the normal manner. Thus, the safety lock of the safety deadbolt extension can be released and the door opened with the use of only one hand in a very short time due to the improved features of the present invention.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A combination lock-safety deadbolt extension combination which comprises an improved safety attachment d therefor for withdrawing the deadbolt which comprises:

a mounting means,

a shaft means rigidly secured to said mounting means,

a door handle means rotatably secured about said shaft,

an arcuate slot in said mounting means adjacent to said shaft,

a spring loaded thumb button secured in said door handle means,

a deadbolt retrieving plunger secured to said thumb button,

said deadbolt retrieving plunger extending through a passage in said door handle means parallel to said shaft and extending through said arcuate slot in said mounting means,

said spring loaded button securing said deadbolt retrieving plunger normally in an outermost position relative to said mounting means for axial movement,

said deadbolt retrieving plunger adapted to releasesaid safety deadbolt extension and to permit withdrawal of said deadbolt extension by rotation of said door handle means.

2. An attachment for releasing the safety lock of a combination lock-safety deadbolt extension and withdrawing the deadbolt thereof which improves the safety thereof comprising:

a mounting bracket means for a combination locksafety extension,

a spindle secured to said bracket means,

an arcuate slot in said bracket means adjacent said spindle,

a cylindrical element secured over said spindle for rotation about said spindle,

a passage through said cylindrical element parallel to said spindle,

a door knob secured over said cylindrical element,

a thumb button,

a deadbolt retrieving plunger secured to said thumb button,

said thumb button secured within a recess in the outer end of said cylindrical member with said retrieving plunger extending through said passage through said cylindrical member and extending into said arcuate slot in said bracket means,

a spring mounted within said cylindrical member to force said thumb button in a direction outwardly from said bracket means,

said deadbolt retrieving plunger extending into an aperture in the safety lock of said combination locksafety extension when said thumb button is pressed inwardly against said spring whereby rotation of said door knob withdraws the deadbolt for opening a door locked by said combination lock.

3. An attachment as claimed in claim 2 wherein said door knob is weighted to position said door knob normally at a specific position relative to the vertical, and

said deadbolt retrieving plunger is positioned automatically in alignment with the aperture in the safety lock.

4. An attachment for releasing the safety lock of a combination lock-safety deadbolt extension and withdrawing the deadbolt thereof which improves the safety thereof comprising:

a mounting bracket for a combination lock safety extension,

a spindle rigidly secured to said bracket and extending outwardly therefrom,

an arcuate slot extending through said bracket adjacent said spindle,

a cylindrical element secured over said spindle for rotation relative thereto,

a passage through said spindle parallel to said spindle,

a door knob secured over said cylindrical element,

said door knob being weighted to position said cylindrical element at a desired position relative to the vertical,

said cylindrical element having a recess in its outwardly extending end,

a thumb button,

a deadbolt retrieving plunger secured to said thumb button,

said thumb button being secured within said recess in said cylindrical element with said deadbolt retrieving plunger extending through said passage through said cylindrical element and through said arcuate slot in said mounting bracket,

a spring mounted in said recess in said cylindrical element to force said thumb in a direction outwardly of said bracket,

said deadbolt retrieving plunger being positioned in alignment with an aperture in the safety lock of said combination lock deadbolt extension, whereby 6 said deadbolt retrieving plunger is pressed into said aperture by said thumb button and rotation of said door knob Withdraws the deadbolt to permit opening of a door from the inside when locked by said combination lock.

References fitted by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 692,068 1/1902 Patrick 70146 2,086,982 7/ 1937 McCarter. 2,722,820 11/1955 Coffey 70133 2,900,813 8/ 1959 Miller 70--13'3 X BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A COMBINATION LOCK-SAFETY DEADBOLT EXTENSION COMBINATION WHICH COMPRISES AN IMPROVED SAFETY ATTACHMENT THEREFOR FOR WITHDRAWING THE DEADBOLT WHICH COMPRISES: A MOUNTING MEANS, A SHAFT MEANS RIGIDLY SECURED TO SAID MOUNTING MEANS, A DOOR HANDLE MEANS ROTATABLY SECURED ABOUT SAID SHAFT, AN ARCUATE SLOT IN SAID MOUNTING MEANS ADJACENT TO SAID SHAFT, A SPRING LOADED THUMB BUTTON SECURED IN SAID DOOR HANDLE MEANS, A DEADBOLT RETRIEVING PLUNGER SECURED TO SAID THUMB BUTTON, SAID DEADBOLT RETRIEVING PLUNGER EXTENDING THROUGH A PASSAGE IN SAID DOOR HANDLE MEANS PARALLEL TO SAID SHAFT AND EXTENDING THROUGH SAID ARCUATE SLOT IN SAID MOUNTING MEANS, SAID SPRING LOADED BUTTON SECURING SAID DEADBOLT RETRIEVING PLUNGER NORMALLY IN AN OUTERMOST POSITION RELATIVE TO SAID MOUNTING MEANS FOR AXIAL MOVEMENT, SAID DEADBOLT RETRIEVING PLUNGER ADAPTED TO RELEASE SAID SAFETY DEADBOLT EXTENSION AND TO PERMIT WITHDRAWAL OF SAID DEADBOLT EXTENSION BY ROTATION OF SAID DOOR HANDLE MEANS. 